Festival at London's Kew Gardens celebrates the unique floral bounty of Yunnan province

For people in China, February often means the excitement of Spring Festival, but in Europe, the wet, gloomy skies can make it a miserable time. So it's "a happy accident" that this is the very time when London's Kew Gardens holds its annual Orchid Festival, which has a China theme this year.

Set in 130 hectares of West London, the Royal Botanical Gardens have the world's largest and most diverse plant collection, with a history dating back to 1759 and a deep Chinese connection.

The gardens feature a Chinese-inspired 10-story pagoda adorned with 80 dragons, as well as stone lion statues.

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank project at its Wakehurst site in Sussex has recently worked closely with global partners, including the Kunming Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on cutting-edge conservation projects.

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Until March 8, China's nature and culture will take center stage in Kew's Princess of Wales Conservatory, in a stunning show of orchids and plant-inspired displays. The greenhouse has 10 computer-controlled climate zones, each providing ideal conditions for showcasing a wide range of China's numerous orchid varieties.

"We chose China this year because we have a great history with China," said Mark Godber, Kew's visitor programs manager. "We didn't choose it to be at the same time as Chinese New Year, as the (orchid) festival is always at this time of year, but that's a happy accident."

The festival, which takes nearly a year of planning, features plant sculptures, as well as exhibits about orchids' medicinal qualities and orchid-inspired artwork.

"A privilege of being here is meeting experts in horticulture and science, so the festival is always an education, which we try to share with visitors," Godber added.

Botanical horticulturist Martin Silnevs said that even as an experienced professional, working with Chinese orchids was a learning experience.

"China's a vast hot spot for biodiversity, with around 40,000 native plants and 1,700 orchids originally found there," he said.

Orchids, together with plum blossoms, bamboo and chrysanthemums — known collectively as the "Four Gentlemen" of flowers — are enduring symbols of Chinese culture, and frequently appear in the poems and paintings of scholars and literati.

"The festival is always an education, not just about the plants," said Silnevs. "I now know about symbols of Chinese culture, which are in our display, and in our permanent orchid zone, we have some rare Chinese orchids, which I've learned about, and hope visitors will, too.

"Culture also plays a big role — the festival's not just about floristry, but also artists who display their work," he added.

One of these is Hong Kong-based artist Zheng Bo, whose series of pictures "Orchids Return to the Sea" can be seen amid the plants.

"People always think about the skyscrapers in Hong Kong, but I live in a very biodiverse place, as there are so many wild orchids," the artist said. "Orchids are important in Chinese painting, but when I was young I wasn't interested in them, I was more into contemporary art. Now that I'm older, I'm reconnecting with premodern Chinese art.

"Even in a place like Hong Kong, orchids are amazingly resilient, not just beautiful, but super strong," Zheng said.

The festival celebrates not only the beauty of China's orchids, but also their scientific importance.

"Orchids hold a special place in Chinese culture, including in medicine," said Rui Fang, a natural product chemist at Kew.

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"Our scientists have long collaborated with partners in China, working with traditional medicine experts on seed banking and other conservation efforts.

"In 2004, after visiting Wakehurst, scientists from Kunming in Yunnan province built the germplasm, which is a Noah's Ark-type project to protect biodiversity that has so far collected over 11,000 wild seeds from across China."

Germplasm comprises the germ cells and their precursors that serve as bearers of heredity.

The display focuses on Southwest China's Yunnan province, which has long been regarded as China's floral kingdom and hosts the largest flower market in Asia.

Godber said that he hopes visitors will leave with a greater appreciation of the beauty of orchids, and also an understanding of their importance and the culture behind them.

Contact the writers at julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com